It’s Been 1970 Rerun for Raiders : Pro football: Much as George Blanda did 21 years ago, Ronnie Lott is making the big plays.

The Raiders have scratched a path to halftime in this season looking a lot like the bunch that stopped hearts back in 1970, when George Blanda worked enough last-second miracles to win a most-valuable-player award.

Twenty-one years later, only the name of the ageless hero has changed.

The Raiders won four games in 1970 by a total of nine points, finishing 8-4-2. Had it not been for Blanda, it might have been 4-8-2, leaving NFL Films without some of its most valuable footage.

This season, another supposed has-been, who also joined the team after making his name elsewhere, is leading the Raiders down the same slippery slope. His name is Ronnie Lott, and where would the Raiders be without him?

Probably 3-5. Maybe 2-6. The Raiders are in the midst of an unexplainable run with an invaluable strong safety leading the way.

The team has been outscored overall, 145-134, yet sits perched half a game out of first place. The offense is averaging 16.7 points and scored its first rushing touchdown Sunday, in Game 8.

But, as the 32-year-old Lott said after the 20-17 victory over the Rams, it never hurts to have a four-leaf clover stashed in your hip pocket.

Coach Art Shell, the former left tackle, was a member of the comeback Raiders of 1970, clearing brush for Blanda, Fred Biletnikoff, et al. Although Shell isn’t one to wax nostalgic, he does see some similarities between the teams.

“The one prevailing thing is that we always felt that we were going to find a way to win the football game,” he said. “That’s the thing that I believe we have going now.”

The difference between good and bad in the NFL is marginal because of parity. That’s the way former Commissioner Pete Rozelle drew it up.

Check out the San Diego Chargers (1-7), who have a certain knack for losing close games in the last minutes.

The Raiders (5-3) can answer to the flip side, having escaped with victories in three games that came down to the last play:

--Sept. 29 at the Coliseum, quarterback Steve Young and the San Francisco 49ers had four shots at the end zone in the final two minutes but failed and lost, 12-6.

--Oct. 13 at the Kingdome, the Raiders trailed Seattle at the half, 17-0, but rallied and won, 23-20, in overtime. Lott was the hero, intercepting Jeff Kemp’s pass and setting up the winning field goal by Jeff Jaeger.

--Sunday, the Raiders took their first lead of the game with two seconds remaining on a 34-yard field goal by Jaeger.

The Raiders appeared finished in the fourth quarter when the Rams, with a 17-10 lead, had first and 10 at the Raider 11. But Lott intercepted Jim Everett’s pass in the end zone with 6:22 left, leading to a tying touchdown.

With 3:07 remaining, Lott’s second interception set up the winning field goal.

How long can the Raiders survive at this pace?

“There’s only so much you can take emotionally when every series is a life-or-death situation,” defensive end Howie Long said.

Midway through the season, the Raiders are grateful for their position in the AFC West. Having to press on without such players as Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson and Max Montoya, they remain in the thick of the plot.

And with three consecutive games ahead against divisional opponents, the Raiders have hope.

Shell offered his assessment:

“I think we’re a team on the rise. I think we’ve overcome some of our difficulties early in the season. I think we’re a team that has to continue to work hard. We can’t take anything for granted. We can’t assume any game’s going to be easy for us. We have to work for what we get. I think the team understands that totally.”

Shell, too, is working all available angles, playing up his team’s underdog image.

“This football team right now doesn’t have the respect that it deserves,” he said. “It’s a much better football team than it gets credit for. . . . People don’t expect us to win. I don’t believe that. They thought it was a fluke last year. They said we caught people by surprise. Maybe we did, but we feel we’re a good football team.”